Lifting mechanism



June 22, 1943. L" R HANSEN 2,322,358

LIFTING MECHANISM Filed 001;. 21, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet -l v mp1 LEE RHANSEN INVENTOR ATTORNEY June 22, 1943. L, R. HANSEN LIFTING MECHANISMFiled Oct. 21, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 LEE R HANSEN INVENTOR BMW. M

ATTORNEY Patented June 22, 1943 LIFTING MECHANISM Lee R. Hansen,Anatone, Wash., assignor of onefourth to George A. Tuttle, Richland,Wash.,

and one-fourth to Charles Ward, Anatone,

Wash.

Application October 21, 1941, Serial No. 415,895

1 Claim.

My present invention relates to lifting mechanism and is especiallyadapted for use in vehicles for lifting one or both ends of a vehiclewhen it is desired to do so.

An important object of my invention is to provide a simple and eflicientlifting mechanism adapted to be incorporated into a vehicle and operablefrom a point remote from the mechanism itself, and which mechanismcomprises a minimum of working parts without sacrificing the desiredmechanical advantages required.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a liftingmechanism operable by fluid power that is developed and controlled at apoint remote from the lifting mechanism.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mechanism for liftinga vehicle which may be incorporated in the forward or rear end ofavehicle with'the minimum of alteration of the vehicle to adapt it to thevarying conditions of each such an installation.

Still another and further object of the invention is the provision of alifting mechanism that will automatically return to or remain in itsrest position when its function is not desired.

Other objects and features ofthe invention will be more apparent duringthe course ,ofthe following description taken in view .of theaccompanying drawings, whereinI have shown and described a preferredform of my invention. Changes and alterations may bemade therein withoutdeparting from the scope or spirit of the invention as defined by thesubjoined claims.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, of the chassisof a motor vehicle indicating the vehicle in dashed line and the liftingmechanism in solid lines,

Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the rear wheel mount and drivingmechanism of a vehicle with my lifting mechanism incorporated therewith,

Figure 3 is a similar enlarged view, with portions in section, of theforward wheel mounting mechanism of a vehicle,

Figure 4 is an elevational view illustrating the forward end of avehicle in its raised position,

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the initial part of the liftingmechanism,

Figure 6 is a view of the underside of the differential housing of avehicle adapted to receive my invention,

Figure '7 is a perspective view of the underside of the ground engagingshoe or plate of my lifting mechanism,

Figure 8 is a perspective view of a brace rod employed in my invention,

Figure 9 is a perspective view of a pivot arm employed in a certainadaptation of my invention to the forward end of a vehicle, and

Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view taken on line l0|0 of Figure 2.

In the drawings, wherein I have illustrated a preferred form of myinvention, the numeral 12 designates a vehicle body which is mountedupon a frame I4 that in turn is associated with front wheels l6 and therear wheels l8 that constitute the ground engaging members of thevehicle.

The rear wheels I8, for example, are rotated by drive axles 19 thatrevolve within the housing 20 under the urgence of power transmittedthereto by a propeller shaft 2| within the propeller housing 22 througha train of gears (not shown) in the differential housing 23. It iscustomary'to associate the housing 20 with the rear end of the frame I4by means of springs therebetween but, since that forms no part of thisinvention, details thereof are omitted.

On the underside of the housing 23 I provide I a bearing block 24 havingan opening 25'there.- through.

The wheels on the front end of a vehicle are customarily mounted inassociation with frame cross member 27, from the under side of which.and extending outwardly therefrom, are pivoted the arms 28-28 thatcooperate 'with the axles 29, 29 of the wheels suggested at l6, Hi. Theaxles 29, 29 are attached to vertically pivoted pins and are T-shaped.The upper ends of the vertical members 30 are associated with the framemember 21 by links 35, 35. Spring members 32, 32 between the frame 2?and the arm 28 provide resiliency and absorb shocks that would otherwisebe imparted to the vehicle as the wheels or other ground-engagingmembers are caused to pass over a drive surface. On the arms 28 I mounta plate 36 having a right angularly disposed arm 35 provided with thehole 36 therethrough.

The lifting mechanism per se comprises the bell-crank lever 48comprising arms 48 and 49, and that is provided with the pivot bolt Mintermediate its ends. A ground shoe 42 is pivoted at 43 on one end ofthe arm 48. The under face of the shoe 42 may be ribbed as indicated at44 to better contact the ground surface. A spring 45 between the eyelet46 and the eyelet 4'! tends to keep the shoe 42 aligned with the generalaxis of the lower arm 48 of the lever 40 as can be seen in Figure 1. 1

Spanner clips 66 and 6| are engaged or secured to the eye 55 by a pin62. Brace rod 64 between the pin 4| and a pin 66 in the lowerextremities of the clip 66 and 6| maintain the two pins in spacedcondition. Often the rods 64 are paired to balance the strain andstresses encountered.

A spring 66 between an upper arm 49 of the bell crank lever is anchoredto the brace rod 64 and applies tension to the bell'crank to retract itfrom the down position and to keep the piston 52 in the adit or supplyend of the cylinder 53 when th device is not in use and when fluid orother pneumatic pressure is not being provided to force the piston inthe opposite direction.

In a rear end installation the pin 4| is passed through the hole 25 orthe bearing member 24 to provide a pivot for the bell crank lever 46upon the underside of the differential housing 23.

In a front end assembly plate 34 an arm 35 is fastened, as shown, to thearm 26 and the pin 4| in that instance is, passed through the hole 36 inthe arm 35 to provide the pivot for the bell crank lever.

The plates 66 and 6| are engaged around the propeller shaft housing ortube 2.2 so that the piston 53 is disposed thereabove and the brace armor arms 64 lies below the tube. In a forward front end mounting of themechanism a mounting stub 16 on the plate 72, which is attached to across frame member 14, provides similar mounting means. In such a frontend installation two such lifting mechanisms would preferably be useddue to the independent mounting of the forward wheels as is customarywith present day vehicular constructions.

As can be seen in Figure 3 the front cylinder 53a has a conduit 56a andof course the front of the vehicle. being provided with a dual set oflifting mechanism, has two such conduits. One conduit,-56b, extends froma second cylinder although the cylinder itself is not shown. By means ofvalves 6|, 62, and 63 in the conduit lines 56, 56a, and 56b, the flow offluid from a pump may be manually or mechanically operated.

Let us assume that it is desired to raise the rear of the vehicle. Inthat event the valve 6| is'opened and the valves 82 and 63 are closed.By operating thepump 65 fluid under pressure flows into the cylinder 53to extrude the piston rod 5| outwardly and to increase the distance be-I tween the pivot pin 56 and the anchor pivot pin 62, by swinging thebell crank 46 about pivot 4|. This'brings the shoe or foot plate intocontact with the ground surface. 'Further movement produces a raising'ofthe rear of the vehicle.

Force that may be transmitted against the plates 66 and 6| and the pin66 is resisted by means of the brace rod 64, fixedly arranged betweenthe pivot 4| and pin 66.

When the vehicle is to be lowered the fluid in the cylinder 53 ispermitted to flow therefrom under the urgence oi the weight of thevehicle on the bellcrank lever 46 and back into a reservoir of the pump65. The spring 66 assists in the further evacuation of the cylinder 52and raises the ground shoe to the position shown in Figure 1.

In like manner either the front left or the front right wheel of thevehicle may be raised individually or together depending upon how theoperator controls the valves 62 and 63. If both valves are opened, bothor the front wheels will be raised-if only one or the other is openedthen only one side of the vehicle will be raised.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

A lifting mechanism for vehicles comprising a bell crank pivotallymounted on the underside of said vehicle for oscillating movement, aground engaging shoe on an arm of said bell crank, said bell crank beingadapted upon oscillation to bring said shoe into contact with a groundsurface, a fluid pressure cylinder between the end of the other arm ofsaid bell crank and said vehicle adapted upon expanding motionto actuatesaid bell crank in its oscillating movement, means for supplyingcompressed fluid to said cylinder, a brace between the pivot of the bellcrank and a portion of said vehicle, and spring means between the bellcrank and said brace biased to maintain the shoe and bell crank in itsraised position when no pressure is supplied to the said cylinder.

LEE R. HANSEN.

